A resident of Punjab’s Pathankot district has been arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan-based agents, as he allegedly sent them a live feed of troop movements in the area.
Punjab Police said on Thursday that according to preliminary investigation, the man, identified as Baljit Singh, is a resident of Chak Dhariwal village in Pathankot. He had installed a surveillance camera at a shop located near a bridge on National Highway 44 to monitor the movements of army and paramilitary forces.
The accused was transmitting the live feed to Pakistan-based therapists, police officials said, citing a PTI report.
Recognition
During post-arrest interrogation, the accused admitted that he had installed an internet-connected CCTV camera in a shop on NH-44 Pathankot-Jammu highway in January this year.
Police said Singh was also taking directions from an unknown person in Dubai. It was given $Police claimed 40 lakh.
Officials said police recovered the surveillance camera he had on him.
It is worth noting that last month, police busted two Pakistani spy units backed by the ISI using Chinese-made, solar-powered, high-tech CCTV cameras to transmit live feeds of sensitive military sites to handlers in Pakistan.
Two units were seized last month
A unit was busted by the Counter Intelligence Wing in Punjab’s Jalandhar, with one operative arrested and a Chinese-made CCTV camera, along with a USB-connected solar panel with 4G connectivity, recovered from his possession.
The other unit was busted by Kapurthala police in a joint operation with a central agency, resulting in the arrest of two persons, recovery of four mobile phones linked to foreign dealers, seizure of one SIM-powered CCTV camera and one WiFi device.
Director General of Punjab Police, Gaurav Yadav, said that these units were strategically installing SIM card-based solar-powered CCTV cameras at various locations to monitor sensitive locations, including defense forces-related establishments, to transmit live footage to dealers residing in Pakistan through mobile applications.
He pointed out, “These Chinese cameras are ideal for off-grid surveillance because they work via 4G connectivity and solar energy, bypassing the need for traditional wires.”
